Volleyball Headline

Friday October 19, 2001Dominating Effort, Volleyball Sweeps Georgia

The University of Florida volleyball team played the Georgia Bulldogs this evening at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Ga. This was the first of back to back matches between the Gators and Bulldogs this weekend. UF won the match 3-0 (30-17, 30-14, 30-17) to extend its winning streak to 11 matches and move to 13-1 (8-0 SEC).

Aury Cruz continued her streak of double-digit kill matches with a total of 19 kills. As a team, Florida out-blocked Georgia 12-4 and out hit the Bulldogs .396 to -.009. Lauren Moscovic recorded a career high 11 digs.

Florida recorded three kills in the first four points of the match to take an early 3-1 lead. Georgia came back to tie it at three on a block of a Aury Cruz attack and a net violation by Florida. Jenkins put Florida ahead once again with a kill. Nicole McCray, Niki Hartley and Jacque Robinson block three straight attacks by the Bulldogs to give Florida an 11-5 lead. Florida had a 14-7 lead before Georgia called a time out. The Gators extended that lead to 16-8 on a kill by Hartley. Hartley served up an ace on the subsequent point for the 18-8 lead. Cruz extended Florida's lead to 20-8 giving UF nine of the last 10 points. Cruz and jenkins combined for a block that gave the Gators a 23-9 lead. The Bulldogs attempted to regain control of the game, but UF that won the final point to win the game 30-17.

UF jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second game on kills by Hartley and Cruz. Hartley and McCray combined for a block to also aid in the lead. That lead was extended to 10-6 after a Cruz kill and a McCray kill. McCray added another kill to give UF a 14-8 advantage when Georgia called a time out. Out of the break the Gators won four straight points to lead 16-8. McCray added her second solo block of the match to extend the lead to 17-9. With the score 20-11, Florida went on to win 10 of the next 13 points to give Florida a 30-14 Game 2 win.

After spotting Georgia its first lead of the match at 1-0 in the third game, UF and UGA battled to four ties before the Bulldogs took a two-point lead at 7-5. A Georgia hitting error tied the game at seven. Cruz registered an ace to give UF its first lead of the third stanza. Georgia tied the game once again at nine before Cruz broke the tie with a kill. Another Cruz kill gave UF a 15-12 advantage, after which Jenkins blocked an attack. After a UGA hitting error, Florida's lead was 17-12. With the score 24-15, Georgia used its second allotted time out. A Robinson and McCray block gave the Gators a 10-point bulge and started a 5-0 Florida run. With the score 27-16, McCray started the run that would end the game 30-17 and the match 3-0.

The Gators and Bulldogs return to Gainesville for the second half of the home-and-home series on Sunday at 1 pm in the O'Connell Center. The match can be heard on WRUF-AM 850 and on Gatorzone.com.